Wrecks to Riches – The Subaru Impreza

Now, this might sound like fighting talk, but stay with us. The Subaru Impreza was not a brilliant car. As we type those words, we can already hear people furiously clicking ‘new email’ tabs as they jump to the defence of the Japanese saloon. But, as we said, stay with us. The Impreza was to Subaru, initially, what the Sunny was to Nissan, or the Corolla was to Toyota. It was just a car. It was more interesting than most, given the flat-four engine, but that was about all that made it special. And even then, it wasn’t really special. It just had a weird engine. And in 1.5 and 1.6 litre capacities, it wasn’t even a fast engine. The car wasn’t particularly handsome, the cabin had all the fit and finish of an Airfix model and it wasn’t a particularly engaging car to drive. It was just, as we said, a car.

Try not to fall asleep…

So why then, are we here giving it server space? Why are we talking about it? Well, while the Impreza that landed in 1992 was indeed about as exciting as chicken soup, things changed in November of that year though. Because in November of 1992, we got the WRX. Well, Japan did actually, but that’s not the point. The point is that Subaru engineers made Spinal Tap’s ’11’ seem more like a one. The WRX, which stands for World Rally eXperimental, turned the knob far further. And in doing so, a motoring legend was born. With a 2.0 flat-four, a thumping great turbocharger, all wheel-drive, spoilers, bucket seats and bonnet vents, the Impreza suddenly became very, very exciting indeed. But 237bhp on tap will do that.

Here in the UK, we didn’t get the WRX. Instead, we got the Turbo 2000 with a watered down 208bhp. Today, the Impreza has a huge aftermarket behind it, to tune, modify and make it faster. But back then, that wasn’t the case. As such, the import market exploded with cars direct from the Land of the Rising Sun. Import WRX models became more commonplace on UK roads than UK versions. It was, and continued to be a good time to be an importer. Though of course, things did level out eventually when the tuners caught up. And as such, the Impreza was soon the poster child of the Max Power generation. Their holy grail car. The one to have. The Escort RS Cosworth cried quietly in the corner.

The WRX would evolve over the course of seven generations. And that’s seven generations of that first Impreza shape, we’re not talking about later cars. The reason why was twofold. Firstly, Subaru knew it was on to a good thing, so gave the market what it wanted. Secondly, the WRX was the car that put Subaru back on the map in the World Rally Championship. As long as that first base car stayed competitive, Subaru wasn’t going to change it by building something completely new. Instead, it would improve upon what it had until it had no other choice.

There WRX was available under a bewildering number of names. There was the WRX, the WRX Type RA, which was a lightened, more basic model with no A/C, a roof vent, manual windows, no ABS and other weight-saving bits. There was the WRX STi (Subaru Technica International), the STi RA, the Series McRae, the Catalunya, the WRX Type R V-Limited, the two-door 22B, and, well, we’ve got a headache now. There were so many. Afficionados will tell you a WRX STi is the one to have, ideally an early one, as they really were special. Early cars were taken off the line and fettled by the STi engineers. The same people behind the rally cars. This meant blueprinted engines, beefier transmissions and better suspension.

The staggering number of WRX iterations is the subject of another, future article. Here, we’re looking at the rise, fall and rise again of this car. And at this point, we’re still in the period of that initial rise. Subaru had shown the world what it could do when it ignored ’11’ and kept turning the knob, and we were excited by that. We were also excited by weekly coverage on the telly of the World Rally Championship, in which the Subaru was dominating. It was a formidable rally car, the kind of machine that put the fear of god into rival teams. The blue Impreza with that ‘555’ livery (a cigarette brand, in case you were wondering – ahh, the ’90s) didn’t come to play. It came to dominate. And most of the time, it did. We say most of the time, as Colin McRae was a driver for the Subaru World Rally Team and, well, his ability to go faster than anyone else was often only matched by his ability to end up in a ditch. If in doubt, and all that.

But while McRae is the face you might instantly associate with muddy Imprezas, he wasn’t the only driver. The Impreza won a staggering 46 rallies over its career, and Colin wasn’t driving every winning car. The team celebrated wins from drivers such as Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Makinen and Petter Solberg. Then you have all the other drivers that made the team successful over the years by contributing to manufacturer wins. Piero Liatti, Alister McRae, Didier Auriol, Ari Vatanen and Markko Martin to name but a few. And these wins, and even the spectacular crashes (thanks, Col) put the Impreza on the map. It was so exciting, so fast and so very captivating. We wanted some of that on our driveway.

Eventually of course, thanks in no small part to the advances being made by the likes of Ford, Mitsubishi and so on, Subaru had to build a new car. The second-generation Impreza landed in 2000 and while it was fractionally wider and longer, it wasn’t a million miles away from the car we had all come to know and lust after. And just like that first car, the second was initially available as nothing more than a bland-as-beige 1.5 without a turbo, or pace notes, or stickers. But this time we were okay with it. We had the first car, and the launch of the new combined with the age of the old one meant prices took a nosedive. There was a time when you could get an early WRX for a couple of grand, we kid you not. We also knew Subaru was going to give us some hot versions of the new version.

The second Impreza was pure to the ethos of the original, and it gave monied speed freaks something new to buy. The first model fell by the wayside for many, due to rust issues (they rot for fun), being modified into oblivion or because they were simply outrageously expensive to insure. Many owners gladly moved into the new model, and soon found the same thrills as before. More in fact, as the second car was a much more resolved, complete beast. Drive one, and you’ll soon see how it feels like it was built for speed.

Then, of course, Subaru messed it all up. They conformed to market pressures and launched a hatchback version in 2007 and we, as a buying public, sort of fell out of love. Subaru also pulled from the WRC in 2008 and with it, the buzz around the brand fell away. Of course, as well we know, the company carried on making incredible, fast, raw versions of the Impreza, but they became cars for ‘those in the know’ rather than a standard go-to for those looking for speed and excitement. Plus, the wider market upped its performance game (thanks in no small part to the successes of Subaru) and a fast Ford, Vauxhall or Volkswagen became a far more sensible option than a Subaru with a small dealer network and limited support.

Like the first generation, prices for the second generation soon started to drop. Again, you could get a second generation WRX for a couple of grand. And this stayed the way for a good few years. However, good things happen to good cars, and like many of its performance peers from the ’90s, the market is now alive for these cars. People who were too young to have one in the first place, or who simply couldn’t afford the insurance. People who now have a bit of disposable income, or people looking for a fun, but retro car that can be used as a weekend toy. They’re all out there, and they all have money to spend. Good cars are now, deservedly, fetching a premium. The notion of restoring an Impreza in the same way one might restore an old Jaguar is not a silly one. In fact, it’s a booming business. And rightly so, because the Subaru Impreza was an incredible car. It still is, to be honest. Modern enough to be used, and used hard, but old-school enough to give you that tingle down your spine that can only come from being at one with your machine. If you have ever wanted one, make no mistake, you really should scratch that itch. Flat right, crest, don’t cut.